The Promise and Peril of Offshore Wind
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McGowan MG102McGowan Building
411 Pacific St
Monterey, CA 93940 View in Campus Map
Free
Open to the Public
Offshore wind has great promise and has demonstrated great results, but there are concerns as the west coast of California looks to develop this resource: how can it be done responsibly, taking into account human needs and the health and well-being of marine mammals and sea birds?
The Promise and Peril of Offshore Wind
Speaker: Dr. Brandon Southall, President and Senior Scientist for Southall Environmental Associates (SEA)
Monday, November 25, 2024
6:00pm to 7:30pm
In-person event
McGowan Building, Room 102
411 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA 93940
About the Topic
Brandon Southall is a marine bioacoustician studying how protected marine species (primarily marine mammals) make, receive, and respond to sounds in the environment. He has led both bioacoustic research programs and the development of noise exposure guidelines and policies around the world.
He will discuss several ongoing research and monitoring programs around ongoing construction and operation of offshore wind farms on the U.S. east coast, including the integrated scientific and monitoring technologies being used. He will also consider how lessons from Europe and the east coast can and should inform the responsible development of wind energy on the California coast, including within the development of monitoring guidelines for the state within which he is serving as the subject matter expert leading the marine mammal working group.
About the Speaker
Dr. Brandon Southall is President and Senior Scientist for Southall Environmental Associates (SEA), Inc. based in Santa Cruz, CA, a Research Associate with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke University. He obtained Masters and Ph.D. degrees from UCSC, studying communication, hearing, and the effects of noise on seals and sea lions. He directed the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Acoustics Program and has been centrally involved in developing systematic noise exposure criteria for marine mammals and the first-ever acoustic guidelines for the agency. He founded and runs SEA, a research and consulting small business conducting and applying science to support environmental management assessments and environmentally responsible development. Dr. Southall has an extensive technical experience in leading basic and applied laboratory and field research programs as well as applying science in national and international policies. He has directed large-scale, multidisciplinary field research programs on behavioral responses of various marine mammals to human noise disturbance around the world for over a decade. He also serves as a technical advisor to international corporations and environmental organizations regarding the impacts of conventional and alternative offshore energy development and commercial shipping and has testified before the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court as well as the United Nations. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 50 technical reports, and has given hundreds of presentations on related subjects to scientific, regulatory, Congressional, and general public audiences around the world.
Recommended Reading
- Managing human activity and marine mammals: A biologically based, relativistic risk assessment framework, journal article in Frontiers in Marine Science, 27 Feb 2023 by Brandon L. Southall et al.
- Whales Are Dying but Not from Offshore Wind | Scientific American, 26 June 2024 by Josh Axelrod
- Evaluating drivers of recent large whale strandings on the East Coast of the United States, journal article in Conservation Biology, 22 Nov 2023, by L.H. Thorne and D.N. Wiley
Event Location: McGowan Building, Room 102
The McGowan Building is located at 411 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Attendees should enter through the glass doors from Pacific Street, and the MG102 is located inside to the right. View the campus map.
No Zoom this fall, but most lectures recorded
This fall, all classes are back 100% in-person, and our lecture series has followed suit. Zoom will not be an option for public participation, but in-person attendees are certainly welcome. Can’t make it in person? No problem! Most lectures will be recorded (as permitted by our speakers) and the videos uploaded to the CBE YouTube, with a link added to each event announcement as it becomes available.
Parking
Parking is available in any Middlebury Institute campus lot after 5 p.m., no parking permit required, no fee. View the campus map. (be sure to not confuse city lots with campus lots—city lots do charge a fee). Free parking is also available on the street (time limits on surrounding streets end at 6 p.m.).
Questions
Contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at cbe@miis.edu or (831) 647-4183.
Gratitude to Our Sponsors
We thank the Loker Hicks Foundation and the Nancy Eccles and Homer M. Hayward Family Foundation our sponsors.
About the Host
The Center for the Blue Economy is a research center at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, that provides economic and policy analysis to support the development of a robust and equitable blue economy for the 21st century. The Center uses the World Bank’s definition of the Blue Economy: the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health. We must maintain ocean health to maintain human health, economic health, and the health of the planet. Climate change is linked, inextricably, to a healthy ocean. We are co-leading a movement for Ocean Climate Action Now. Consider joining our Center for the Blue Economy Newsletter List (3-4x per year by email).